Egg-carton.



R. M. ODELL.

EGG CARTON.

APPLIOATION FILED 00115. 1908.

93 1,637. Patented Aug. 17, 1909.

WITNESSES lNVENTOH Z6 @m .9, Ersruzv M. UDEILL 4 TTOHNEYS RISDON M. ODELL, OF HOISINGTON, KANSAS.

EGG-CARTON.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 17, 1909.

Application filed October 15, 1908. Serial No. 467,908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RIsDoN M. ODELL, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Hoisington, in the county of Barton and State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Egg-Cartons, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in packages or cartons for shipping eggs, and it consists in the constructions; combinations and arrangements herein described and claimed.

The object of my invention is to provide a device by which eggs may be shipped without danger of breakage, in separate cells which are so joined together as to form a single package designed to be placed in a case, and when so placed, to form a rectilinear body which will act as a brace for the case itself.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device in which light and heat or cold may be excluded from the eggs, thereby doing away with the necessity of putting them immediately into cold storage to prevent their spoiling.

A further object of my invention is to provide a package which is air tight and which while effectually preventing the entrance of moisture,-at thesame time may be readily opened, to take out or replacethe eggs, and which may be fastened by simple means.

A further object of my invention is to provide a carton made up of single cells which will transport the eggs in such a manner that even if one egg is broken in transit, it may be kept from spreading to the other eggs and soiling them.

Other objects and advantages will a pear in the following specification, and W111 be particularly pointed out in the annexedclaims.

My invention is'illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 1s a side view partly in section of my improved carton in its closed position.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the lowerhalf of the carton. Fig. 3 is a plan view'of a modified form of strip for making the carton. Figs.

' 4 and 5 are views showing modified forms of fastening means.

is mixed'with a jet black coloring matter is run over a series of hot impression rolls, which forms the semi eg -shaped cells a b,

-shown in the drawings. YVhile I have illustrated in'the drawings a carton composed of 12 of these cells, it is to be understood that any number of cells might be used without varying in the slightest from the principle of the invention; thus I may form a strip with two rows of 12 cells each or two rows of 6 cells each, or any number of cells. In one form of my improved carton I provide a rim 0 which'projects laterally around the edge of the group of cells, as clearly shown in Fi 1'. The upper part of the carton is provi ed with. a rim similar to the one thus described and has a grooved arranged to receive a tongue e in the laterally extending part 0 of-the lower portion B. The two sets of similar cell portions together with their rims are designed to be placed together, so

that the tongue of the lower half, is in'the groove in the upper half around the set of cells, thus bringing the respective cellportions of each half in registration.

I may-secure the upper and lower halves of the carton in any convenient manner.

The means which I have illustrated is by apin and slot connection. Thus the laterally projecting portion 0 of the lower half, is provided with a series of upwardly projecting integral pins'f, arranged to enter corre sponding slots, or holes g, in the upper half of the carton.

Instead of formin the upper and lower half of the carton of se arate strips I may form a single strip'of the requisite number of cell portions A B, having a central portion E, provided with a scoring lineh, as

shown in Fig. 3. The portion A may wen be bent over upon the portion B at the line it thereby bringing the cell portions in the respective strips in registration, and the edges of the two strips may be joined as before described.

In place of the pin and slot arrangement for fastening the carton, I may provide a wire 7: stapled either in the upper or lower half of the carton, and adapted to be bent around the edge and to take over the adjacent part in the manner shown in Fig. e, or I may provide a wire Z, fastened in either of the two halves in the end of the carton, and adapted to be drawn around the edges of the lateral projections c, and to be tied in place as shown in Fig. 5. In lieu of this soiling the remainder 1n the carton.

G is a fingerhold or handle. It consis'ts of a flat strip of paste-board secured to the surface C at right an les thereto between the cells as shown in strip maybe of any extent but is preferably a short strip as shown by the drawing, being arranged centrally of the case so that when the case is liftedby the'fingers, there will,

be no tendency for one end to swing downwardly. The strip. also serves the purpose of strengthening the casing.

In preparing the carton, I render thepackage moisture proof, by coating the inside of each cell with a paraflin mixture, which also acts to excludejhe air.

Having thus described the construction of the carton, its use will be immediately apparent. The eggs are placed in the various semi-cells offlthe lower strip, and the upper strip is then fastened down in. the manner.

already described. The carton then forms a protecting envelop which excludes the air, the light, and the moisture, each eg being in a cell by itself, which very nearly conforms to the shape of the egg, and therefore takes up comparatively little room. The cells all being separate, provide means for preventing the breakage of one egg fIOfifl T e carton as a whole has considerable strength, owing to the peculiar formation of the cells themselves, and when laced in a case, serves to act as a brace for t e case.- The laterally projectin rim acts as a stiffening member all aroun the sides of the package, and thus insures the safe transportation of the eggs. While I have shown cells of a shape conigs. 1 and 2. This.

formin to thatof the egg,it will beunderstood t at I contem late also the use of cells which may be c lindrical, round, oblon or square, or cells in which the upper. an lower halves consist of sockets or depressions, conforming to the up er and lower halves of an eggcut longitu inally instead of transversely. v

' I am aware that other forms of the device based upon the same idea might be made,

but-I consider as my own' and desire toclaim all such modifications 'as fairly fall within the spirit and the 'scope of the invention.

I claim. 1. An egg carton comprising a sheet having cells impressed thereon, said sheet being provided with a groove, a second sheet provided with similar cells arranged to register with the first named cells, and having a tongue arranged to enter said groove, and

i'ng cells impressed thereon, asecond sheet having similar cells, finger-hold for said sheets comprising flat strips arranged between the cells centrally of said sheets, and means for fastening said sheets together.

RISDON M. ODELL.

Witnesses:

EDWIN J. GRAVIER, JOHN H. HARTMAN. 

